DENVER Dec 29, 2006 (AP)— The second major snow storm in a week pounded Colorado on Friday, burying the foothills under another 2 feet of snow, shutting down highways and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights at the Denver airport.
The storm stretched across the Rocky Mountains into the western Plains, where the National Weather Service warned that the gusting wind could whip up blinding whiteouts.
Colorado Gov. Bill Owens again declared a statewide disaster, putting the National Guard on standby as areas west of Denver got 28 inches of snow Thursday and early Friday. In the city, more than a foot of snow had fallen by morning and another foot was expected.
United Airlines and Frontier Airlines, the largest carriers at Denver International Airport, canceled 513 flights starting Thursday through Friday morning, trimming their schedules to ease congestion from weather delays.
While last week's blizzard dumped nearly 2 feet of snow in about 24 hours, making it impossible for airport and highway plows to keep up, snow from the new storm was expected to stretch over about three days.
The metro area's light rail trains, buses and public transit all planned to run on their regular schedules Friday. Maintenance crews covered Denver streets with deicer, but offices still closed early and residents stocked up on groceries. Many residential streets never cleared after the first storm were buried again.
Denver is getting pounded by these storms over the past couple of weeks. It was bad enough for the Christmas holiday travelers to get to their destination through Denver, but it would also appear that the New Year's travelers are going to have the same problem. And Oh My--Does it look cold in Denver! See for yourself with these news pics through Yahoo:
John Brazzell cuts through a park on his way to work in Denver, Friday Dec. 29, 2006. Residents are digging out from the second major snowstorm in a week to hit the interior West. (AP Photo/Andrew Otto)
Melissa Mong takes her huskies and Newfoundland, right, for a walk in the snow in downtown Denver early Friday morning Dec. 29, 2006. (AP Photo/Bill Ross)
A United Airlines jet is deiced at Denver International Airport Friday, Dec. 29, 2006, in Denver. The second major snow storm in a week pounded Colorado on Friday, burying the foothills under another 2 feet of snow, shutting down highways and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights at the Denver airport. (AP Photo/Will Powers)
Parked cars are once again covered with snow as the second major snowstorm in a month hits Denver, Thursday Dec. 28. 2006. (AP Photo/Bill Ross)
Snow transforms a northeast Denver school playground into a winter wonderland on Thursday evening Dec. 28. 2006. A winter storm is expected to dump up to 18 inches of snow on the Denver area overnight and prompted Gov. Bill Owens to again declare a statewide disaster emergency, just a week after a pre-Christmas blizzard shut the airport for more than two days. (AP Photo/Bill Ross)
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer and the rest of the reindeer display is covered with snow in front of the City/County Building in downtown Denver on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2006, as a winter storm enveloped the interior West. After a blizzard dumped two feet or more of snow on the interior West last week, another storm has taken aim on the region packing high winds and heavy snows for residents already weary of winter. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Under blue skies and freshly groomed snow, Ben Somrak, dressed in seasonal clothing as Santa, flies through the air with his skis, in the Super Half Pipe at Crested Butte Mountain Resort ski area, Saturday, Dec. 23, 2006, Crested Butte, Colo. (AP Photo/Nathan Bilow)
Eleven-year-old Lucas Luna, front, builds a man made of snow while waiting for a bus after shopping with his mother, Paula Leek, back left, and father, Daniel Luna, in lower downtown Denver on Friday, Dec. 22, 2006. More than two feet or of snow was dropped on some parts of Colorado before the blizzard moved out of the interior West on Thursday. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Eric Moffitt struggles to clear snow from around his vehicles marooned in a parking lot in a residential neighborhood in west Denver on Friday, Dec. 22, 2006. Some mountain areas got more than 3 feet (90 centimeters) of snow, and up to 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) fell in the Denver metropolitan area. Bus and train service was shut down. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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